Health and Wellbeing Dashboard

In developing a robust Town Investment Plan it is important to consider how any intervention will impact and improve the health and wellbeing of the population. An understanding of the existing health and wellbeing performance of a Town and the surrounding area is therefore crucial.

The purpose of this dashboard is to assist in this process. Within this dashboard we have brought together a selection of key health and wellbeing measures. The lack of health and wellbeing data published at a local level makes it challenging to access Town level data on health and wellbeing. For this reason we have included local authority level data alongside the Town level data. In addition we have included a national average which helps to identify any specific challenges (or opportunities).

Project Prioritisation Tool

NB: This is an updated version of the previously provided tool

This Project Prioritisation Tool aims to help towns ensure that the projects put forward for further appraisal fit the Town’s objectives and MHCLG’s requirements.

The tool will help you to prioritise a long list of projects, taking you through two stages of assessment to score the projects against a set of town specific criteria, and Green Book appraisal criteria.

The recent blog posts Project Prioritisation 101 and From long list to short list provide some guidance on how to use this tool, but please do read the ‘Overview READ ME’ tab of the Excel prior to using the tool, as this provides a thorough explanation as to how the tool works.

If you have any issues accessing or using the tool, please contact your town coordinator.

Good Governance Tool

The Towns Fund provides an opportunity for transformational investment in your town and acts as a platform for future policy and development. Your Town Deal Board has an essential role to play and is responsible for producing Town Investment Plans and overseeing compliance with the Heads of Terms Agreement with the government. Therefore, it’s crucial that the board performs well.  

This tool is designed to help you get the best from your board. It’s an opportunity for you to reflect on what a high performing board looks like, plan how you can support and improve your board and identify any extra support needs you may have. 

The tool looks at the four themes which are core to good governance and high performing boards: 

• working well as a board team 

• working in the open 

• engaging with relevant partners and the community 

• making good decisions 

Sustainable Growth Index

The Towns Fund Further Guidance explicitly suggests that towns incorporate a focus on inclusive growth in order to reflect the fact that many of the towns face serious social and economic challenges.

In order to support discussion around this and to stimulate thinking, Grant Thornton’s Sustainable Growth Index provides a useful tool for analysing the different components that create successful places.  This document provides guidance on how to effectively use the Index.